St. John Chrysostom-Feast Day September 13th: John was born in Antioch to Greco-Syrian parents in 349 AD,father who was a military official died soon after his birth and he was brought up solely by his Christian mother. He studied rhetoric under Libanius a pagan and theology under Diodorus of Tarsus.He was an extremely erudite young man buthis legal careerassume an ascetic lifestyle in acommunity situated in the mountains near Antioch. Owing to his fragile health he had to return to the city of Antioch where he was ordained first as a deacon and then as a priest.He remained in Antioch for 12 years and his charismatic sermons andspeaking earned him the nickname Chrysostom which means » Golden Mouth». In 397 he was assigned the post of Archbishop of Constantinople and became greatlywith the spiritual and temporal welfare of the poor. His radical against the misuse of wealth earned him many influential and affluentand for this reason he spent a lot of his time in exile.John wrote many great theological works including a tome of homilies based on material from the Bible many were directed towards the Jews whom heblamed for the death of Christ. He died in 407 in Pontus from exhaustion his last words were «Glory be to God for all things «.
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross-September14th. The feast of the Holy Cross recalls three historical events. Firstly the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the first Christian Emperor Constantine. Secondly the dedication of churches built by Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary.Thirdly the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem by the emperor Heraclius II. The Holy Cross is a central feature of our Christian faith andis a sign that we our loyalof Jesus.is easy to understand why the Cross is so special because Christ used it as the instrument of Salvation .Our Lordswasup for us on the Crossa ransom for our sins. The Cross is also symbol of Christianand Gods love, for It is upon the cross that Christ is victorious over death freeing mankind form the bondage of original sin uniting us once again with God as his adopted sons and daughters.we carry our crosssuffering with Christ, like the Saints we should attempt toit up for the sake of others.You cannot be a true disciple of Jesus if you don’t carrycross ,sometimes the weight may seem too heavyburdenChrist´s love will alwaysus tothe., rewards for carrying our cross with devotion in the life to come are so great they are beyond our comprehension. Christ himself said » If any man will come after me ,let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me» Luke 9 .23
St. Robert Bellarmine-Feast Day September 17th. Robert was born in Montepulciano in 1542, he was the son of noble albeit impoverished parents. An intelligent young manenrolled with Jesuit order at the age of 18. He spent several years teaching classics in Piedmont and thenon to study theology in Padua and Louvain. In 1570 he underwent ordination to the priesthood in Ghent and was electedthe chairTheology in Louvain. Robert held the reputation of an excellent preacher and professor and lectured on the «Summa Theologica» of Aquinas. Inhe was appointed professor of controversial theology at the new Roman college. In 1579 he became the personal theologian to Pope Gregory XIII and produced 2 Catechisms for the Roman Catholic Church which have been used until recently. Robert continued to achieve promotions and in 1602 was elected Archbishop of Capua. He was recalled to Rome however by Gregory´s successor Pope Paul V to act as chief spokes man for the Catholic Church against protestant reformers. Robert died aged 78 in Rome in 1621 but he was not canonized until 1930.
